jenkins



4Sheets-Sheet 1. W. P. JENKINS 8u P. X. MUDD.

(NO Modl.)

POULTRY GAR.

` Patented Ja.11.6,189l.

'avr-0 rn: Norms vxrsns cn., maremma, wsnmnnm, n. c,

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W. P. JENKINS auf?. X. MUDD. PUULTRY CAR.

No. 444,266. I Patented Jan. 6, 1891.

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 3,

W. P. JENKNS 8p?. X. MUDD. PUULTRY GAR.

No. 444,266. Patented Ja,11.6, 1891.

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

W. P. JENKINS 8u F. X. MUDD.

POULTRY GAR.y j

No. 444,266. Patented Jan. 6, 1891.

me News ravens co., Novo-umn., wmnm'an. n. c,

' UNITED STATES PATENT EEICE.

VILLIAM P. JENKINS AND FRANK X. MUDD, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGN- ORS TO THE LIVE POULTRY` TRANSPORTATION COMPANY, OF SAME PLAGE. y

POU LTRY-CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 444,266, dated January 6, 1891.

Application filed July l2, 1890. Serial No. 358,528. (No model.)

vTo all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM P. JENKINS and FRANK X. MUDD, citizens of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Poultry- Cars, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in the class of cars which are adapted especially for the shipment of live poultry; and it is designed particularly as an improvement on the construction of car for the purpose stated shown and described in Letters Pat-ent of the United States No. 384,913, to Villiam P. J enkins, dated June 19, 1888. The car provided with our present improvements also preferably involves the invention for which the aforesaid Letters Patent are granted, inasmuch as it is divided internally into tiers of compartments formed with open-Work at the outer sides of the car (which afford at the same time the outer sides of the compartments or coops) and a longitudinal aisle Within the car separating the tiers of compartments into two sets normally closed to the aisle and accessible from the latter through doors, all as claimed in the aforesaid patent.

Our improvements relate to details designed especially to increase the usefulness and effectiveness in its purpose of the car constructed as set forth in the before-mentioned patent to XV. P. Jenkins. Thus our said improvements provide for rendering the compartments or coops self-cleaning by having` them entirely open at the outer side of the car for a short distance above the deck of each, or between the deck and open-Work forming the outer side of the coop, whereby the motion of the car and scratching of the poultry will tend to effect discharge of the dirt and thus cleanse the coop-floor. They also provide for permitting ready access from the aisle to the upper tiers of coops by affording steps of the decks adapted to admit the feet of the attendant, for introducing the feed from the aisle Without to that end requiring the aisle-doors to be opened, for facilitating the supply of Water to the drinking-troughs,

In the accompanying drawings,Figure lis a broken view in side elevation, partly sectional, of a live-poultry car provided with our improvements; Fig. 2, a view in the nature of a diagram indicative of the provision we make for automatically supplying the drinking-troughs with water; Fig. 8, a plan sec-v tional view of the car as represented in Fig. l; Fig. 4, a transverse section taken at the lines 4 4 on Fig. l and viewed in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 5, a broken perspective View to illustrate the manner of supporting the removable decks for the coops and the frame-work forming the latter, and Fig. 6 au enlarged view showing the aisle-door construction for the coops.

The base portion A of the car may be an ordinary fiat car, except that it should be provided underneath with the receptacle cc, forming a usual feature on poultry-cars.

The frame-work of the car-body is formed with uprights r at suitable distances apart along the outer sides of the base, the spacing of the uprights being such as to afford the central transverse aisles B of desired width; uprights i", coinciding with the side uprights along opposite sides of a space provided lengthwise at the center of the car to afford the longitudinal aisle C; bars p, and p', eX- tending horizontally lengthwise of the car respectively across the outer uprights r and the inner uprights r, (being preferably let into the uprights, as shown,) and at such intervals vertically. of the uprights as to form the longitudinal sills of coops or compartments D of desired height, and bars p2, extending horizontally at right angles to the bars p and p', which they join in coinciding pairs to form the transverse sills of the coops, the sills (preferably all thereof) being provided along their inner sides with cleats q to support the decks E, adapted to t between the sills and be slid into place from the aisle C to form the iioors and roofs, or decks of the compartments.

suitable kind of open-work, as by means of g the strips or slats t' extending between the decks, Fig. i.

Though dimensions are not of the essence of our invention, the preferred height of each coop maybe stated tobe about twelve inches.

Each horizontal series of the compartments 2o l) is inclosed at the outer sides ot the car with open-work, either lattieeuvork or the like or the woven wire a illustrated, and is so applied as to leave just above each deck E a permanentlyopen or unobstructed space z5 fm, say about an inch high, through which to enable the dirt to be more or less worked out by the motion of the car and scratching of the poultry, and thus rendering the cleaning of the coops in a sense automatic. Thus the 3o open-work n, if of woven wire, as preferred, may be applied in strips, each of a length to cover a horizontal series of compartments l) from an end of the carto the transverse aisle l, and enough narrower than the height of the coops to leave between it and the decks below it the spaces on, and the open-work ln may be secured to the uprights rbymeans of battens, as shown.

XVe close each coop D to the aisle (l by 4o means of a hinged door G, preferablyof openwork, such as woven wire in a frame Z, Fig. 6. The manner of supporting the doors to enable them to be readily opened and closed by swinging is that illustrated, and involving extensions from the lowcredges of the doorframes Z, and loosely surrounding a rod i', extending horizontally along` the sills p, and thus a single rod 'i of suitable length may, as shown, be provided to support all the doors 5o G ot each horizontal series ot coops D between the aisle B and end ot' the car. Tire width of each door is less than that of the coop it is provided to close, the provision in width and adjustment being such as to leave a space h below it sutiieiently deep to admit the feet of the attendant, and thus cause the decks of the coops at the aisle C to afford a species of ladder to enable the attendant readily to climb to the upper coops, and for 6o which purpose the depth of each space 7L need not exceed two inches, and to leave a space g above it sufliciently deep to enable the feed for the poultry to be inserted into the coops from the aisle without for the purpose requiring the doors G (which may be secured by hooks f) to be opened.

The decks E may be of wood or any other suitable material, and owing to the simple manner of their construction and that of supporting them they may be readily adjusted from the aisle C into their positions of being supported on the eleatsq and as readily removed, as for increasing the heights ot certain coops to accommodate the larger species of poultry.

We further provide for ventilating the car through the roof, to enable ready control of the temperature inside the car, which, owing to the excessive anilnal heat generated by the live poultry with which the car is filled would otherwise become so high as to be injurious both to the poultry and the attendant or attendants. Accordingly we form openings c, Fig. lt, in any desired number, in the roof of the ear, preferably covering them with openwork e', and provide each with a hinged cover c?, having means for propping it when raised on its hinge and for preventing the wind from opening it too far when raised. 'lhe means referred to may involve for each cover @zany of various devices suitable for the purpose, those shown being a curved bar (l, hinged at one end near the outer edge of the cover and having lateral prongs cl for propping it at intervals against the edge ot' the opening c, and a prong LZ2 at its lower end to engage a stop (Z3 above it, thereby to prevent excessive raising of the cover.

lhe maintenance of the required supply of water in the troughs Il, of which two may be provided in each coop, as shown, to extend transversely ot' the car, is a mattei.' attended with considerable trouble and, as hitherto practiced, with great inconvenience, owing particularly to the lack of head trom the supply-tank I in supplying the troughs in the uppermost coops through the medium, commonly resorted to, of ailexible hose, and, furtherinore, owing to the dficulty of access to the uppermost coops for supplying the troughs with water. This ditliculty will be readily appreciated by realizing that each trough should only be partly iilled, to avoid as much as possible loss of the contents by splashing under the influence ofthe motion of the car, and that the filling operation has to be performed generally twice daily. To reduce the diiliculty of maintaining the supply of water in the troughs, we lead from the overhead tank I horizontally along and over the troughs in each uppermost horizontal series of the coops D a pipe c, provided at intervals coinciding with the locations of the troughs with openings e', the pipes extending from the tank (and near which the passages through them may beeontrolled by suitable valves c2) at a suitable level below its top, whereby in iilling the tank enough water may escape through the pipes c to introduce into each trough in the uppermost compartments the desired quantity of water. Obviously the system of pipes c may be extended from the uppermost ones to supply in a similar manner the troughs in the second highest hori- IOO IIO

zontal series of coops; and, in fact, it may obviously be extended-to all the said horizontal series.

What we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a live-poultry car divided internally into tiers of coops provided with decks, the outer sides of the car formed with open-work In, extending short of the decks of the coops and forming between the said decks and lower edges of the open-Work cleaning-openings m of greater dimensions than the mesh of the open-work, substantially as described.

2. In alive-poultry car divided internally into tiers of coops at opposite sides of a lougitudinal aisle C, the combination, with the coops, of decks and hinged doors G, controlling access to the coops from the aisle and narrower than the vertical width of the coops, thereby forming spaces 7L between the doors and upper sides of the decks, affording` vertical series of steps for the vertical series of coops, substantially as described.

S. In a live-poultry car divided internally into tiers of coops at opposite sides of a longitudinal aisle C, the combination, with the coops, of decks and hinged doors G, controlling access to the coops from the aisle and narrower than the vertical width of the coops, thereby forming feed-insertion openings g above the doors, substantially as described.

Ll. In a live-poultry car divided internally into tiers of'coops at opposite sides of a longitudinal aisle C, the combination, with the coops, of decks and doors G, narrower than the vertical width of the coops and controlling accessto the coops from the aisle and having extensions 7c, hinged from their lower edges to rods t', the said door construction forming feed-insertion openings g above the doors and between the doors and upper sides of the decks, and spaces 7i, affording vertical series of steps for the vertical series of coops, substantially as described.

5. In a live-poultry car, the combination, with the base A, ot' the outer uprights fr, interior uprights r', forming the longitudinal aisle C between them, longitudinal sills 1o and p', and transverse sills p2, forming the framework of tiers of compartments or coops at opposite sides of the said aisle, decks E, removable and adjustable from the aisle, open-work n at the outer sides of the car, secured to the uprights r and forming spaces m at the outer edges of the decks, and doors G, opening into the aisle, one for each compartment, and hinged from their lower edges to rods c' and forming spaces h and g, respectively, below and above them, substantially as described.

VILLIAM P. JENKINS. FRANK X. MUDD. In presence of J. W. DYRENFORTH, M. J. Fnosr- 

